by: Rima Makaryan of The Monarch Project http://www.socoimm.org/

As our nation begins to transition in to the next phase of our pandemic response, which includes planning for reopening states and our larger economy, we must center the well-being and basic needs of those essential frontline workers that have continued to be overworked, underpaid, and left out of the healing process – our immigrant workers.

Industries have shut down, workplace practices have shifted and our world has developed a new normal of social distancing, no contact, face masks and staying at home. Immigrants have fueled the various industries that have allowed us the privilege of remaining healthy, safe, and in our homes. However, our nation’s leadership continues to promote hateful rhetoric and ideology, racist culture, and money first policies harmful to those very immigrants that have worked in our hospitals, ensured we have remained fed and have been most impacted by this virus.

Immigrants are a critical part of workforce industries that are vital to our COVID-19 response efforts. The chart below shows the significant portion of foreign-born workers in crucial industries like agriculture, health care, and transportation. For example, nearly one in five nursing assistants and one in three physicians were born outside of the US. Nearly half of all agricultural workers are foreign-born.

These heroes care for those who are sick and work every day to make sure there is food on the grocery store shelves. They are essential to our response and our recovery, and yet they are overlooked and taken for granted.

The federal effort to provide help to individuals who have been hard-hit by the economic effects of the pandemic has left out some groups of immigrants, even the ones that work in industries critical to fighting the effects of the pandemic. For example, immigrants who can’t get a Social Security number – as well as their spouses and children – are blocked from receiving the direct stimulus payments that others received.  At the same time, some immigrants have been kept from receiving proper medical care, including access to testing, and have continued to work in unsafe conditions while being underpaid, underserved and undervalued.

This pandemic has shown the critical importance of community health and the deep interconnection we have with one another. Therefore, we must not allow our country to continue to exclude some of our most vulnerable.  Moving forward, we must ensure equitable  access to COVID-19 testing, health care, and treatment. We must protect our essential workers by providing workplace protections and financial support, including paid sick leave and personal protective equipment. We must ensure that we do not allow our most essential to continue to be our most expendable.

Stephanie Muñoz

Artwork provided by: Rima Makaryan of The Monarch Project http://www.socoimm.org/